A snake that eats eggs with a big head. Egg snake. Genus: Dasypeltis Wagler = African egg snakes, egg-eaters

13.06.2019

A small genus of African snakes, including 5 species. Together with a close genus of Indian egg snakes (Elachistodon), it is often distinguished into an independent subfamily Dasypeltinae among already-shaped ones. The specialized way of feeding these snakes leaves a deep imprint on the structure and behavior of these animals. They feed exclusively on bird eggs. Due to the fact that the need to grasp and hold prey disappears, the teeth are greatly reduced. But the bones of the skull are connected extremely movably, which allows you to open your mouth very wide and swallow big booty. The lower processes of the cervical vertebrae are elongated and pierce the wall of the esophagus from above, emerging into its lumen. These pointed bones cut open the shell of an egg as it passes down the esophagus like a can opener. Its liquid contents drain into the stomach, and the compressed shell is burped out in one lump.
Egg snakes are common in the Equatorial and South Africa adhering to dry savannahs with light forests. Confidently move on the ground and climb trees well.
Medium-sized snakes about 80 cm long, up to a maximum of 1 meter. The head is small, slightly separated from the body, rounded in front, with a convex rostrum. The eyes are small, with a vertical pupil. Body scales with well-defined ribs. A disturbed snake, wriggling its body, by rubbing its scales against each other, makes a kind of rustling sound. The coloration is very diverse, even within the same population, which creates significant difficulties in identifying species.
For captive keeping, a cubic or upright terrarium with large quantity intertwined branches and shelter located above the ground. It can be a ceramic or plastic tube, whole piece bark or any other suitable size shelter. It is better to use sand as a substrate. The temperature is maintained at 28-30 degrees, the humidity is low, it is enough every 2-3 times to spray the container with a spray bottle. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure good ventilation in the terrarium, which does not allow air to stagnate. These snakes are usually calm, absolutely harmless and live well in captivity. the main problem provide them with food. The best option - fresh eggs various small ornamental birds that are kept and bred in captivity: parrots, weavers, canaries, etc. Suitable for adults quail eggs However, washed and chilled quail eggs sold in stores are odorless and lose their attractiveness to snakes. When feeding eggs, you can put them in an artificial nest suspended from branches, which is used for breeding birds in cages. Due to the instability of the food supply in nature, egg snakes are able to actively feed, quickly accumulating fat, and vice versa, for a long time starve, refusing food.

Description

It is a medium-sized snake, 80 - 110 cm long. The head is small, slightly separated from the body. The head is rounded in front, with a convex rostrum. The teeth are greatly reduced. The eyes are relatively small, with a vertical pupil. Body scales of an African egg-eater with well-developed ribs. The coloration of this species varies greatly. The most typical is the so-called "rhombic" shape, in which the main tone of the snake's color is light brown, reddish or gray, along the ridge there is a series of oval or rhombic dark spots, which are separated by white spaces, and one or two V- shaped lines, on the sides there are distinct vertical or relatively oblique dark stripes. There are also specimens with a weakly expressed pattern or without it at all - they are painted in the same color.

Behavior and eating habits

It is characterized by a specialized way of feeding - it feeds exclusively on bird eggs. As a result, she has several characteristic features. The bones of the skull are connected extremely movably, allowing the snake to open its mouth very wide and swallow large prey. The lower processes of the cervical vertebrae are elongated and pierce the wall of the esophagus, emerging into its lumen. These pointed bones help open the egg shell. The liquid content of the egg flows into the stomach, and the compressed shell is regurgitated by the snake

A disturbed snake twists its body, making a rustling sound by rubbing the scales against each other.

area

Inhabits the predominant part African continent, except for the central Sahara and equatorial forests. Distributed from Senegal and Sudan in the north to South Africa in the south. Populations also exist in southwestern Morocco and the Faiyum region of Egypt. Part of the range of the species extends into the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula. Inhabits various biotopes: savannas, semi-deserts, coastal, mountain forests, tall grass meadows.

Notes

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

Dasylabris
Dasyponyssidae

See what the "African egg snake" is in other dictionaries:

AFRICAN EGG SNAKE- (Dasypeltis scaber), the only species of the same genus of the subfamily of real snakes, is characterized by a peculiar way of feeding, which left a deep imprint on the entire organization of this non-venomous snake(see SNAKE). The color of the egg snake is modest: ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

List of reptiles of Africa- includes species of the Reptile class, common in Africa, including Madagascar, Seychelles, Mascarene, Comoros and Canary Islands. Contents 1 Turtle Squad (Testudines) ... Wikipedia

List of reptiles of North Africa- includes species of the class Reptiles, common in the territory North Africa. Contents 1 Order Tortoises (Testudines) 1.1 Family leatherback turtles(Dermochelyidae) ... Wikipedia

General essay4- Reptiles, compared with amphibians, represent the next stage in the adaptation of vertebrates to life on land. These are the first true terrestrial vertebrates, characterized by the fact that they reproduce on land with eggs, breathe ... ... Biological Encyclopedia

Raw egg for breakfast, lunch and dinner. No, this is not a new weight loss diet. This is the daily diet of the African egg-eater (lat. Dasypeltis scabra) - one of the most common representatives of egg snakes.
African egg snake or African egg-eater (Latin Dasypeltis scabra) (English African Egg-Eating Snake)

The habitat of this snake becomes clear from its name. Only it is not distributed throughout the entire African continent, but in its equatorial and southern parts, starting from Senegal and Sudan in the north and ending in South Africa in the south. Partially the habitat of this species is located in the southwest Arabian Peninsula.

For a comfortable stay, they chose semi-deserts, various savannahs, coastal and mountain forests, as well as tall grass meadows. Lifeless deserts and equatorial forests they didn't like it.
Egg-eaters feel great both on the ground and in trees. In cases of danger, they try to hide in deep crevices under the roots or in the hollows of trees.
The African egg-eater grows no more than 110 centimeters in length. The small body of the snake is crowned with a small rounded head. Egg snakes belong to a family of snakes known for their lack of venomous teeth. The rest of the teeth are underdeveloped.
The color of these snakes has one feature. Despite the main tone, which varies from light brown to dark gray, dark spots and stripes are scattered throughout the body of the snake. But there are also monochromatic specimens, whose color has no pattern at all, or it is very pale. Scales have pronounced ribs.
When the skin is stretched, the ribs on the scales are clearly visible.

Small eyes with vertical pupils are of little use. But poor eyesight is compensated by an excellent sense of smell and touch. The egg-eater finds its prey with the help of the tongue and a special hole at the tip of the muzzle. Having found a nest with eggs in this way, the snake proceeds to the meal.

Egg snakes feed only on eggs, and therefore there are a number of features in their structure.
First, the bones of the skull are connected freely, the lower jaw is not connected to the upper. This allows the snake to open its mouth very wide and gradually swallow the egg.
Secondly, the snake's teeth are very small and weak. With such a diet, she simply does not need them.
Thirdly, the pharynx can also be very stretched.
Fourthly, at the beginning of the esophagus, the egg is waiting for the "egg saw" - elongated and sharp processes of the anterior vertebrae of the body. When the snake begins to push the egg into the esophagus, these processes seem to saw through the shell, after which all the liquid contents enter the esophagus, and the shell is spit out back.
On the right - the remains of an egg shell
During harvest periods, these snakes begin to accumulate fat, which is gradually consumed during famine, when it is difficult to get bird eggs.
In cases of danger, if it is not possible to hide, the snake begins to make vibrating sounds, obtained by rubbing the ribbed scales against each other.

Class: Reptilia = Reptiles

Subclass: Lepidosauria = Lepidosaurs, scaled lizards

Order: Squamata Oppel = Scaled

Suborder: Serpentes (Ophidia) Linnaeus = Snakes

Genus: Dasypeltis Wagler = African egg snakes, egg-eaters

Egg-eating snakes (Dasypeltinae), a subfamily of already-shaped snakes. Body length up to 80 cm. The lower processes of the anterior trunk vertebrae (there are 24-26 of them) are greatly enlarged and protrude in the form of wedges through the dorsal wall of the esophagus into its cavity.

Egg-eating snakes feed on bird eggs, swallowing them whole. When the egg enters the esophagus, the snake bends sharply, causing the processes of the vertebrae to crush the egg shell and its liquid contents enter the stomach; a lump of broken shell after a while is thrown out through the mouth. 2 genera, each with 1 species. The African Egg Snake (Dasypeltis scabra) is common in tropical and South Africa; Indian egg-eating snake - (Elachistodon westermanni) in the northeastern part of the Hindustan peninsula.

egg snakes

Egg snakes are common in Equatorial and South Africa, adhering to dry savannahs with light forests. Confidently move on the ground and climb trees well.

Medium-sized snakes about 80 cm long, up to a maximum of 1 meter. The head is small, slightly separated from the body, rounded in front, with a convex rostrum. The eyes are small, with a vertical pupil. Body scales with well-defined ribs. A disturbed snake, wriggling its body, by rubbing its scales against each other, makes a kind of rustling sound. The coloration is very diverse, even within the same population, which creates significant difficulties in identifying species.

For captivity, a cubic or upright terrarium with lots of intertwined branches and a shelter above the ground is best suited. This can be a ceramic or plastic tube, a solid piece of bark, or any other suitable size shelter. It is better to use sand as a substrate. The temperature is maintained at 28-30 degrees, the humidity is low, it is enough every 2-3 times to spray the container with a spray bottle. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure good ventilation in the terrarium, which does not allow air to stagnate. These snakes are usually calm, absolutely harmless and live well in captivity. The main problem is to provide them with food. The best option is fresh eggs of various small ornamental birds that are kept and bred in captivity: parrots, weavers, canaries, etc. Quail eggs are suitable for adults, but washed and chilled quail eggs sold in stores are odorless and lose their attractiveness to snakes. When feeding eggs, you can put them in an artificial nest suspended from branches, which is used for breeding birds in cages. Due to the instability of the food supply in nature, egg snakes are able to actively feed, quickly accumulating fat, and vice versa, to starve for a long time, refusing food.

Dasypeltis scabra = African egg snake

The most widespread and normal view egg snakes. It lives on most of the African continent, with the exception of the massifs of the central Sahara and equatorial rain forests, from Senegal and Sudan in the north to South Africa in the south. Relic populations exist in southwestern Morocco and in the Faiyum region of Egypt. It enters the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula. Inhabits the most wide range biotopes: wet and dry savannas, semi-deserts, coastal and mountain forests, tall grass meadows.

Medium-sized snake up to 1.1 m long, usually smaller - about 80 cm. Body scales with well-developed keels. The eyes are relatively small. Coloration varies greatly. The most typical "rhombic" form: the main color tone is light brown, reddish or gray, along the ridge there is a series of oval or rhombic dark spots separated by white spaces, often one or two V-shaped lines on the neck, distinct vertical or oblique dark lines on the sides. stripes. There are specimens with a weakly pronounced pattern or with no pattern at all (solid brown, orange or grayish).

Dasypeltis medici = Medici egg snake

The species is distributed in southeastern Africa from southern Kenya along the coast to northern South Africa, inland to Malawi and eastern Zimbabwe. It occurs in various biotopes: in savannahs, tall grass meadows, shrubs, plains and mountain forests. They lead a semi-arboreal lifestyle, climbing trees and shrubs in search of bird nests. A medium-sized snake, the maximum length is 1 m, usually less than 50 - 80 cm. The body is cylindrical, the cervical interception is practically not expressed, the head is short, with a rounded nasal section. The eyes are large. The color is very variable, various shades of pink, orange, red, gray, brown. Some individuals are uniform in color, others have a dark stripe along the ridge, interrupted by white spots, and a pattern of several V-shaped lines on the neck.